Team Mercedes has immensely enjoyed dominance on the Formula One grid for a long time. They are quite aware of the fact that a constructor title comes with a lot of money. Clearly, it is a lot of money for the winner and the runners-up. But Mike Elliot, Chief Technology Officer of the Brackley team, believes that they are shifting their focus to the next year’s car, W15. However, the Silver Arrows will still keep pushing the W14 car to improve its performance.
Currently, Mercedes is 256 points behind Red Bull with only ten races remaining. On the other hand, they are 51 points ahead of Aston Martin and 56 points ahead of Ferrari. Hence, it makes no sense for the Silver Arrows to shift focus now when the second place is up for grabs. Although, it makes sense that Red Bull is focusing on the next year’s car because they are so far ahead. That’s what the 2015 Le Man’s winner Richard Bradley talked about on the OTGP podcast.
Richard Bradley Suggests Toto Wolff’s Team Should Keep Their Focus On W14
The former Le Man’s winner explained that the difference between the prize money of the second-place winner and the fourth-place winner is pretty significant. According to Bradley, Mercedes can gain a lot of benefits if they build on their lead over the teams who are fighting for second place, like Aston Martin, Ferrari, and McLaren. He added that the top spot for both championships belongs to the Milton Keynes team. But Mercedes has a serious chance of finishing second or even falling down to fourth.
According to Richard Bradley, the difference between the prize money for second and fourth places must be between $10 million and $15 million. Hence, experts believe Mercedes should keep their focus on this year’s car instead of shifting focus on 2024 so soon. But Red Bull can go ahead because, for them, it may not make any sense anymore. However, if they want to focus on the records, then they can build on what they already have the most superior car, RB19. Moreover, it might be the best car in F1 history.
Mercedes Must Try To Hold On To Second Place Behind Red Bull
It seems like this season, it is obvious who has the upper hand on the title. Red Bull has won all the races in 2023 so far. Max Verstappen has won ten Grands Prix himself. Hence, the constructor title is quite possibly going to the Milton-Keynes-based team, and the Driver’s Championship is going to Verstappen for the third time in a row. But the prize for second place is also a lot of money in the case of the constructor title.
However, in the case of Mercedes, they have won eight consecutive constructor titles from 2014 to 2021. Since last year, the team has lost its grip on the title. In 2022, Red Bull and Ferrari beat Mercedes to gain the top two spots. However, this year, Mercedes has an excellent chance to finish in second place.
